13. Big Fish

Big Fish. Daniel Wallace. 1998. 192 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: On one of our last car trips, near the end of my father's life as a man, we stopped by a river, and we took a walk to its banks, where we sat in the shade of an old oak tree.

Premise/plot: William Bloom seeks to make the most of his last opportunity to get to know his father--really, truly, honestly--in Daniel Wallace's Big Fish. Edward Bloom is a storyteller, a lover of jokes; he has a story (and then some) for every single occasion. It doesn't matter if everyone has heard them hundreds of times--he LOVES to tell stories. But, William Wallace feels like his father is mostly a stranger. His tales about his own life--Edward's tales about his own life--well they sound more like tall tales (epic exaggerations) than truth. Can William peel back the layers of his father's stories to find the real man? Does he even want to when all is said and done?

My thoughts: I love, love, love, love, love the movie. I do. I discovered it late--only last year--but I have seen it three or four times now and I just love it. It is fantastical, strange, bizarre, and ultimately satisfying. The book and film are quite different. The tall tales are there, but they are different. The book spins tales that the movie doesn't have; the movie spins tales that the book doesn't have. I think the spirit of the book is captured in the film. But the book is perhaps even more ambiguous than the film.

I found the movie to be more satisfying than the book. That being said, the book is definitely readable. It is a quick read--a literary read. It is a blend of tall tales and more serious chapters. There are four chapters titled 'My Father's Death.' These are chapters where William seems to be preparing himself mentally, emotionally, spiritually, to handle the inevitable death of his father. He's imagining how it will play out.

 

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